Computer-related technologies continue to be manifest in ever-increasing types of computing devices (hereinafter, “devices”). Newer examples of such devices can include smart phones, wrist watch cell phones, and smart appliances, just to name a few. Of course, these examples offer just a snap-shot of evolving devices. A common thread among these devices is that they often perform some type of input/output (I/O) function as data is moved and/or manipulated.
Traditional devices employ a very specific architecture. First, an operating system (OS) is developed for a specific hardware processor. Then applications and drivers are developed for the OS. The OS pre-defines how I/O functions are performed involving the applications and drivers. This traditional paradigm has many advantages, but does not necessarily lend itself to quickly evolving devices where new processors and/or combinations of components are readily adopted. Alternatively or additionally, predefining how I/O functions are to be handled tends to limit consideration of runtime conditions. The present concepts relate to an I/O broker model that can supplant or augment a traditional OS and is readily adaptable to various hardware configurations.